Mexico said it would strengthen security at tourist destinations after a lone gunman opened fire atop one of the Teotihuacan pyramids, killing one Canadian tourist and wounding about a dozen others less than two months before the FIFA World Cup.
The shooting occurred Monday at Teotihuacan, the UNESCO World Heritage site about an hour from Mexico City and a major attraction for visitors. The attack raised immediate questions about safety measures ahead of the tournament, which Mexico will co-host with the United States and Canada this summer. Local lawmakers had recently moved to revive a nighttime light show projected on the pyramids for World Cup visitors — an attraction paused early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said the archaeological site lacked security filters that might have prevented the attack and described the incident as “isolated,” noting that attacks of this type on public tourist sites had not occurred before in Mexico. She said the shooter appeared influenced by the 1999 Columbine massacre in Colorado and that the government’s duty was to take steps to prevent similar events.
Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch, who leads the government’s anti-cartel efforts, ordered an immediate boost in protection at archaeological zones and major tourist spots nationwide. Officials said they would increase National Guard deployments, step up security screenings at key locations and enhance surveillance systems to detect and deter threats to residents and visitors.
The response aimed to calm worries about violence ahead of the World Cup. The Sheinbaum administration has emphasized security gains since she took office, pointing to a drop in homicides to levels not seen in a decade, the capture or killing of high-level cartel figures and a reported decline in fentanyl seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border. Still, authorities faced a spike in violence in February in Guadalajara after the killing of one of the country’s most powerful cartel leaders, a wave that renewed concerns domestically and abroad.
Sheinbaum has repeatedly assured fans there would be no risk for World Cup attendees, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he had “full confidence” in Mexico as a host. The government has outlined large-scale security plans for the tournament, including the deployment of some 100,000 security personnel concentrated in the host cities of Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, more than 2,000 military vehicles, aircraft and drones, and security perimeters around stadiums and airports.
Despite those preparations and the rarity of mass public shootings in Mexico compared with countries where guns are easier to obtain, the attack at Teotihuacan intensified scrutiny over the government’s ability to prevent violence during the tournament and beyond. FIFA was contacted for comment but typically does not address incidents that occur away from match venues.
Critics and analysts warned that concentrating security resources on host cities and tourist sites could divert attention from other crime-stricken areas. Mexican security analyst David Saucedo said the pyramid shooting damages Mexico’s security image and undermines the government’s efforts to present the country as safe, adding that public safety agencies appear “overwhelmed.”